Electric, zero-emission MTA bus hits the road in pilot program

The new all-electric bus out for a test run on Friday. (Shawn Inglima)

Mother Nature is smiling.

The MTA for the first time is picking up riders with an all-electric, zero-emission electric bus, a key step in a pilot program that ultimately could benefit the city's air quality — and the authority's bottom line.

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The bus, which started picking up riders in Manhattan Friday afternoon, will be on the road for two months as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority evaluates the durability and potential savings from the earth-friendly design.

"It could be a pivotal change for the department and for our environmental footprint," said Henry Sullivan, chief maintenance officer for buses.

The bus will be on the road for two months as the MTA evaluates the earth-friendly design. (Shawn Inglima)

The MTA has 5,700 local buses that consume 50 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, the MTA said. The MTA spends about $190 million a year on bus fuel.

The pilot program was good news to advocates in northern Manhattan where there are five bus depots — and the highest asthma rates in the city.

"Great," Peggy Shepard, executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice in West Harlem, said. "We're very interested in any new technology that reduces pollution."

MTA bus driver Edward Velazquez at the wheel of the new electric bus. (Shawn Inglima)

The bus was built in China by Build Your Dreams Ltd. The company plans to open a manufacturing plant in California next year.

The 40-foot bus can travel 150 miles before its three batteries need to be recharged, according to the manufacturer. There's no engine or transmission. Electric motors turn the rear wheels and operate the steering, lighting and air-conditioning systems.

"It's quieter than the other buses," said Sze Wei Mah, 47, a Brooklyn travel agent who boarded the test bus Friday.

'It could be a pivotal change for the department and for our environmental footprint,' said Henry Sullivan, chief maintenance officer for buses. Here, the all-electric bus out for a test run. (Shawn Inglima)

Joe Sokher, 37, a Manhattan gym teacher who stands at 6-foot-2, quickly noticed there is less headroom in the back section.

"A higher ceiling would be nice," he said. "But if it's better for the environment, and made here, I'd be for it."

If such a bus can withstand the rigors of carrying passengers all day and all night in the city, time-consuming maintenance tasks like oil changes won't be necessary, Sullivan said.

The bus can travel 150 miles before its three batteries (one pictured here) need to be recharged, according to the manufacturer. Electric motors turn the rear wheels and operate the steering, lighting and air-conditioning systems. (Shawn Inglima)

To put that in perspective: each of the MTA's buses is taken off the road for an oil change every 3,000 or 4,000 miles, depending on the rigors of its assigned route. The average bus at the Quill Depot on Manhattan's West Side gets an oil change every five weeks.

Savings, however, will have to be great to offset the higher price. A diesel bus costs about $450,000. The ballpark price for a BYD zero-emission bus is about $800,000, officials said.

American bus manufacturers are in the developmental stages of producing all-electric buses, Sullivan said. They can be expected to pick up the pace now that the MTA has demonstrated tangible interest. The MTA is the largest mass transit operation and buys more buses than any other operator in North America.